Excursions in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan

[rbnk]

We are going on our very first cruise/tour to Alaska (1st cruise and 1st time to Alaska) in July on the Island Princess. I was wondering if anyone has been on the follow excursions and what you thought about them

1. Skagway - Chilkoot Lake Freshwater Fishing

2. Juneau - Whale Watching & Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari

3. Ketchikan - Alaskan Chef's Table

Any extra tidbits for first time cruisers would be great!!

Thank you:)

[CruisingGoddess]

Didn't do the excursions you mentioned but we also sailed Island Princess last July so you might be interested in my review of the ship with photos.

 

Read the detailed review with photos of my Alaska cruise on Island Princess:

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/alaska-2010/

 

Feel free to let me know if you have questions about the cruise or the ship!

[DisneyCruiserAR]

We just got back from our 1st time and here are my recommendations

 

Ketchikan - Flightseeing over the Misty Fjords, we used Island Wings

Juneau - We went whale watching with Captain Larry and then helicopter up onto the glacier for dogsledding, most amazing day ever, all organised for us by Orca Enterprises

Skagway - White Pass & Yukon Tour, we used Chilkoot Charters and it was fantastic

Icy Strait Point - we went on the Bear Search in the morning and didnt see any bear, but whale watching in the afternoon was excellent. Booked through the ship.

 

Dont be afraid to use independent tour operators in Alaska as long as they have good reviews on here!!

[olozbal]

My two cents is you need to get on a helicopter for any reason. The view is incredible. Skagway is better than Juneau but they're both great. I know it's big money but it'll pay off.

 

If you need convincing here's some video I took two weeks ago:

[dinoman]

We just got back from our 1st time and here are my recommendations

 

Ketchikan - Flightseeing over the Misty Fjords, we used Island Wings

Juneau - We went whale watching with Captain Larry and then helicopter up onto the glacier for dogsledding, most amazing day ever, all organised for us by Orca Enterprises

Skagway - White Pass & Yukon Tour, we used Chilkoot Charters and it was fantastic

Icy Strait Point - we went on the Bear Search in the morning and didnt see any bear, but whale watching in the afternoon was excellent. Booked through the ship.

 

Dont be afraid to use independent tour operators in Alaska as long as they have good reviews on here!!

 

We were in Alaska last year and did the same excursion as DisneyCruiser in Juneau and Skagway. The whale watching experience was wonderful except that I wouldn't do the Salmon Bake after my whale watch next time because it was almost closing time of the restaurant when we got there. The Chilkoot Yukon Tour was great too. The scenery was spectacular and it surely a tour one shouldn't miss.

[engrdad]

We just got back from our 1st time and here are my recommendations

 

Juneau - We went whale watching with Captain Larry and then helicopter up onto the glacier for dogsledding, most amazing day ever, all organised for us by Orca Enterprises

 

DisneyCruserAR,

 

How was the helicopter tour organized by Orca? I see on their website they have a helicopter flight seeing which includes 15 minutes on a glacier but do not see the dogsledding option. The helicopter tour is very reasonble compared to the more popular ones by ERA, NorthStar, TEMSCO, etc... How much was the helicopter portion of your tour (if you don't mind sharing)?

[Wylie Coyote]

We just got back from our 1st time and here are my recommendations

 

Ketchikan - Flightseeing over the Misty Fjords, we used Island Wings

Juneau - We went whale watching with Captain Larry and then helicopter up onto the glacier for dogsledding, most amazing day ever, all organised for us by Orca Enterprises

Skagway - White Pass & Yukon Tour, we used Chilkoot Charters and it was fantastic

Icy Strait Point - we went on the Bear Search in the morning and didnt see any bear, but whale watching in the afternoon was excellent. Booked through the ship.

 

Dont be afraid to use independent tour operators in Alaska as long as they have good reviews on here!!

 

 

Island Wings

 

Best tour operator for Fjords viewing. Very experienced pilot, great customer service, and a local...not someone brought in to fly during tourist season. I would fly with them again in a heartbeat!